Good Gifts

Brand new basketball shoes, black with pinkish-red accents; they were the perfect gift.

All I had wanted when I was a middle-school basketball player was a brand new pair of basketball shoes.  All I got was whatever athletic looking shoes the discount store had. But now, 20 years later, sitting in front of me was what I had always wanted: new basketball shoes.

They were sure to give me the look of a legitimate coach, which I was grateful for. It made me wonder if I had had real basketball shoes way back in middle school, would I have stuck with basketball? Would I have been a better player? I will never know the answer to those questions, but I did know that the giver of this gift knew me well.

Gift giving at Christmas is one of the more special parts of the holiday season. We spend a lot of time looking for just the right item to bless the people we love. James is quick to inform us that “good and perfect gifts” come from our Father in Heaven.

God really is the perfect gift giver. He gave us Jesus, His own son, to pay the penalty for our sin and reconcile us to Himself (John 3:16). He gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us and intercede on our behalf (John 16:7-10; Romans 8:26).

Two perfect gifts – ones that we each need daily as we journey through the hardships and choices of each day. He clearly knew we couldn’t do it on our own. As we celebrate another Christmas and the arrival of the most perfect gift of all time, take time to thank the giver of those perfect gifts.